472 



THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



the cock. They are said to be good layers of 

 large-sized white eggs, seldom found to sit, 

 and to have good quality of flesh. 



In several Continental countries fowls with 

 what is known as cuckoo plumage are to be 

 found. France owns one such breed, mainly 



in Brittany, where it is highly 

 French esteemed. Of it there are two 



Cuckoo. varieties, namely, the Coucou de 



France or de Bretagne, and the 

 Coucou de Rennes, the former of which is 

 found in Northern Brittany and the latter in 

 the district adjacent to the city of Rennes. The 

 main difference is that the former has a rose 

 comb, spiked like that of the Hamburgh, and 

 the latter a single comb. These are birds of 

 medium size, not exceeding 7 lbs. for cocks 

 and 5^2 lbs. for hens, when fully grown, with 

 short, cobby appearance, as the head and neck 

 are short and thick, and the legs short and 

 strong. The beak is pale in colour and the 

 legs and feet pinkish-white, whilst the some- 

 what small ear-lobes are white splashed with 

 red. In colour of plumage this breed has a 

 base of steel grey, evenly barred with blue- 

 black. As is usual in French poultry, con- 

 siderable attention is paid to the flesh qualities, 

 which are excellent, and the flesh and skin are 

 pure white. As layers they are very good 

 indeed, but they are unreliable in maternal 

 qualities. One great point in their favour with 

 the Bretons is that they are very hardy, and 

 cost little to feed owing to their being good 

 foragers. 



" In the part of Northern France commonly 

 known as the Pas de Calais, lying between 

 Calais and the Belgian border, a variety is now 

 being bred to which the name of 

 Bourbourg. Bourbourg has been given. They 

 are chiefly produced for their table 

 qualities. Nearly all the fat fowls consumed 

 in the Department du Nord, from Dunkirk to 

 Lille, are of this variety, the position being 

 taken by reason of their early laying and 

 hatching. They are above the medium in size, 

 and are said to be very hardy, precocious, fine 

 in the quality of their flesh, and fair as layers. 



" The Bourbourg cock is a handsome, vigor- 

 ous bird, thick-set and short in leg. The head 

 is large and rather short ; beak short and 

 strong, white, streaked with horn ; eyes orange- 

 red ; comb single, upright, regularly serrated 

 with large spikes, and rather large ; wattle 

 medium sized ; ear-lobes little developed and 

 red. There is a beard, formed of white 

 feathers, growing upwards, and the cheeks, 



red, are slightly covered with small white 

 feathers. The head is white ; the neck well 

 arched, covered with an abundance of neck 

 hackle, is white striped with black ; back, 

 saddle, and body white ; tail black, the coverts 

 edged with white. The body is large, rather 

 sloping in front ; thighs stout, covered with an 

 abundance of feathers, but no hock feathers ; 

 legs strong and long, very slightly feathered ; 

 legs and feet reddish-white, with white toe- 

 nails. Weight, 7 lbs. to 9 lbs. The colour is 

 that of the Light Brahma, or what the French 

 call Ermine. The Bourbourg hen is very 

 pretty, large at the shoulders, with back flat 

 and long, and also of a pretty ermine colour. 

 Her laying is very good, and her salmon-tinted 

 eggs are good in flavour. She sits early and 

 well, is a good mother, but does not sit often, 

 twice in the year at most Her conformation 

 corresponds with that of the cock, and her 

 weight is from 6 lbs. to 7 lbs. It will be seen 

 that the breed corresponds closely with the 

 ermine-coloured Faverolles ; and it has, indeed, 

 been termed by the French themselves the 

 Faverolles of the North. 



" In the north-eastern district of France the 

 Bourbourg fowl has now a rival, which is 

 called the fowl of Estaires. It would appear 



that this is a half-bred Langshan, 

 Fowl of that breed having been largely 



Estaires. used in its production ; but at the 



same time it is distinctly different 

 from the Langshan, although it retains some 

 of its features. The plumage is entirely black. 

 The comb is single and large, standing upright 

 in the male bird, but falling over in the hen ; 

 the eye is yellow-orange, and the ear-lobes red. 

 The body is carried well forward ; the breast 

 large ; the tail very short, and terminating in 

 a point. The legs and feet are dark and 

 slightly feathered. It has been suggested that 

 this breed is due to a cross between the Lang- 

 shan and the Game fowl, and it is noteworthy 

 as showing how the French have introduced 

 the Langshan as well as the Brahma into their 

 races of table poultry." 



The predominating impression left from a 

 survey of the French breeds of poultry must 

 be, in the flrst place, the great value of the 

 Polish race as a source from which may be 

 derived quality of flesh of the highest character, 

 and prolific egg-production ; and secondarily, 

 the extraordinary variety of the results attain- 

 able from one such source. We may have 

 crest and muffling fully maintained, as in 

 Crevcs and Houdans, or all but banished, as 

 in La Fleche and others : and with form and 



